MagnaChip Reports First Quarter 2019 Financial Results

SEOUL, South Korea and SAN JOSE, Calif., April 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- MagnaChip Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: MX) today announced financial results for the first quarter of 2019.

Q1 2019 Summary
Revenue of $157.4 million exceeded the guidance range of $150-$155 million; revenue down 5.1% Year-over-Year (YoY)
Standard Products Group (SPG) revenue of $100.3 million, up 13.5% YoY
Display Standard Products revenue of $58.2 million, up 17.2%; OLED revenue up 41.4% YoY
Power Standard Products revenue of $42.0 million, up 8.7% YoY
Foundry Services Group (FSG) revenue of $57.1 million, down 26.3% YoY due to a previously disclosed customer inventory correction and a previously announced decision to be more selective about new business as a result of a strategic evaluation of the Foundry business and Fab 4
Total gross profit margin of 14.4% was within the guidance range of 14-16%; gross margin down 12.5 percentage points YoY due primarily to a widely anticipated decline in Foundry fab utilization, and an inventory reserve of $3.3 million related to a legacy display product

Second Quarter 2019 Business Outlook
For the second quarter of 2019, MagnaChip anticipates:
Revenue to be in the range of $173 million to $181 million, up 12.5% at the mid-point of the projected range when compared with revenue of $157.4 million in the first quarter of 2019, and down 11.4% year-on-year when compared to the $199.7 million revenue recorded in the second quarter of 2018. Revenue guidance for the second quarter reflects an expectation that standard product revenue will show double-digit sequential improvement, and Foundry revenue will be flattish as compared to Q1 2019.
Gross profit margin to be in the range of 16% to 18%, as compared to 14.4% in the first quarter of 2019 and 27% in the second quarter of 2018. Gross margin guidance reflects the expectation that fab utilization in the Foundry business has stabilized.

Statement on strategic evaluation of the Foundry business and Fab 4
Chairman of the Board Nader Tavakoli said, "The Board and Company-led strategic evaluation of the Foundry business and Fab 4 that was announced in February is ongoing and supported by our financial advisor, JP Morgan, and legal advisor, Paul, Weiss. The Company intends to provide updates about the strategic evaluation process in a timely manner when meaningful milestones are achieved. As stated previously, the Board is committed to improving MagnaChip's profitability and unlocking shareholder value. As we proceed with the strategic evaluation of the Foundry business and Fab 4, we will be mindful of the best interests of all of our stakeholders, including shareholders, customers and employees."

CEO Comments on Q1 business
"Revenue for both OLED and Power standard products achieved the highest levels ever recorded in the first quarter of a year, despite typically weak seasonal trends and a soft China smartphone market.

In the display segment, OLED revenue increased over 41% year over year, and we were awarded six OLED design wins from leading smartphone makers in China. We also commenced volume production of OLED DDICs for mid-range smartphones from a major Korean brand. We added our ninth OLED DDIC with the launch of the industry's most power-efficient 28-nanometer OLED DDIC, manufactured with the most advanced process technology used for DDICs. We also announced an OLED ecosystem initiative with three companies initially to develop next-generation features to improve the functionality of OLED platform solutions in a wide range of products and markets.

In the Power segment, revenue from Premium products increased nearly 46% from the first quarter a year ago, and accounted for nearly 55% of Power revenue, as compared with 40% in the first quarter of 2018. We also continued to make inroads in the automotive sector, as we commenced shipments of two different high-voltage power standard products to a customer in that market.

Our Foundry revenue and fab utilization both experienced a severe decline in Q1, as was widely anticipated. While the Foundry business will remain weak in Q2, the business has recently showed signs of stabilizing."

First Quarter Financial Review

Total Revenue
Total revenue in the first quarter of 2019 was $157.4 million, down 5.1% as compared to reported revenue of $165.8 million from the first quarter of 2018, and down 12.3% from $179.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Segment Revenue
Foundry Services Group revenue in the first quarter was $57.1 million, down 26.3% from the first quarter of 2018, and down 31.3% from the fourth quarter of 2018.

Standard Products Group revenue in the first quarter was $100.3 million, up 13.5% YoY and up 4.2% sequentially. The improved results in the Standard Products Group year-over-year were primarily attributable to a sharp increase in revenue from mobile OLED display driver ICs in connection with the introduction of new OLED smartphones from manufacturers in China and Korea, and an increase in demand for premium Power products such as high-voltage MOSFETS, primarily for TV and industrial applications. The revenue improvement in the Standard Products Group was offset in part by a strategic reduction in demand of low-margin LCD business.

Total Gross Profit and Gross Profit Margin
Total gross profit in the first quarter of 2019 was $22.7 million or 14.4 % as a percentage of revenue as compared with gross profit of $44.6 million or 26.9% in the first quarter of 2018, and $43.9 million or 24.5% in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Segment Gross Profit Margin
Foundry Services Group gross profit margin was 6.4% as compared with 26.7% in the first quarter of 2018 and 23.2% in the fourth quarter of 2018. The Standard Products Group gross profit margin was 19.0% in the first quarter of 2019 as compared with 27.2% in the first quarter of 2018 and 25.6% in the fourth quarter of 2018. The sequential and YoY decline in the Standards Products Group gross profit margin was attributable in part by an additional inventory reserve of $3.3 million related to a legacy display product.

Operating Income, Net Income, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted EBITDA
Operating loss, on a GAAP basis, for the first quarter of 2019 was $18.3 million, as compared with an income of $7.4 million in the first quarter of 2018 and an income of $7.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Net loss, on a GAAP basis, was $34.1 million or $1.00 per basic and diluted share in the first quarter of 2019, as compared with net income of $2.8 million or $0.08 per basic and diluted share in the first quarter of 2018, and net loss of $2.4 million or $0.07 per basic and diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Adjusted Net Loss, a non-GAAP financial measure, totaled $19.9 million or $0.58 per basic and diluted share in the first quarter of 2019, as compared with Adjusted Net Income of $1.4 million or $0.04 per basic and diluted share in the first quarter of 2018, and Adjusted Net Income of $3.5 million or $0.10 per basic and diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure, in the first quarter of 2019 was negative $5.7 million or negative 3.6% of revenue in the first quarter of 2019, as compared with Adjusted EBITDA of $15.5 million or 9.3% of revenue in the first quarter of 2018, and Adjusted EBITDA of $17.4 million or 9.7% of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Management believes that non-GAAP financial measures, when viewed in conjunction with GAAP results, can provide a meaningful understanding of the factors and trends affecting MagnaChip's business and operations and assist in evaluating our core operating performance. However, such non-GAAP financial measures have limitations and should not be considered as a substitute for net income or as a better indicator of our operating performance than measures that are presented in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of GAAP results to non-GAAP results is included in this press release.

Cash and cash equivalents totaled $105.8 million in the first quarter of 2019, down from $132.4 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2018.

First Quarter 2019 and Recent Company Highlights

MagnaChip announced:

A launch of its 28-nanometer OLED Display Driver IC for smartphone displays, The 28nm process is the most advanced used today for manufacturing OLED DDICs, achieves a form factor reduction of 20 percent compared with the previous 40nm process, has a logic voltage of 1.0V vs. 1.1V in the previous generation, and also is expected to improve call quality by reducing EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) levels by 20 percent as compared to the 40nm DDIC, MagnaChip's product roadmap includes plans to expand the feature set of OLED DDICs to include Ultra-High Definition (UHD) capabilities.http://investors.magnachip.com/news-releases/news-release-details/magnachip-launches-28-nanometer-oled-ddic-smartphone-displays

A new initiative to partner with companies in the development of next-generation display features of smartphones and other mobile or handheld consumer electronic devices. MagnaChip intends to develop individual strategic partnerships with leading manufacturers of touch, stylus, fingerprint technologies, and associated OLED display technologies. Each company will collaborate with MagnaChip to develop and standardize innovative human-interface solutions based upon smart touch, stylus and fingerprint technologies that are suitable for MagnaChip's industry leading OLED DDICs. The goal in each instance will be to improve the functionality of OLED displays on end user devices. There also will be a specified collaboration in shared intellectual property that will extend into new applications, including the IoT and automotive sectors. http://investors.magnachip.com/news-releases/news-release-details/magnachip-announces-initiative-develop-next-generation-display

A partnership with ELAN Microelectronics Corp. to expand the capabilities for OLED displays for a wide variety of next-generation consumer, communication, computing and industrial products, as well as for automotive displays. The partnership seeks to build upon the recent growth and market penetration of OLED displays in areas such as smartphones, mobile devices, tablets and automotive applications, ranging from navigation and infotainment screens to brake light and interior lighting systems.http://investors.magnachip.com/news-releases/news-release-details/magnachip-and-elan-microelectronics-announce-partnership-expand

A partnership with HiDeep to develop advanced OLED display capabilities for smartphone makers and other handheld consumer electronics devices. MagnaChip will cooperate with HiDeep to develop enhanced HMI solutions optimized for the growing OLED display market. Specifically, MagnaChip and HiDeep will collaborate and create useful and cost effective new HMI solutions for flexible OLED displays for top-tier panel makers and smartphone OEMs. This collaboration also will extend into a variety of other applications and end markets.http://investors.magnachip.com/news-releases/news-release-details/magnachip-and-hideep-inc-announce-partnership-develop-enhanced

A partnership with Melfas Inc. to develop advanced OLED display capabilities for the automotive and consumer electronics sectors. Currently, OLED technology is deployed primarily in televisions and mobile products such as smartphones and smartwatches, but MagnaChip and Melfas are working towards developing automotive display-related solutions in an effort to respond to this fast-growing market. With their current solutions, the two companies will initially address opportunities in consumer electronics and, going forward, will work together to develop solutions for OLED displays in automotive applications.http://investors.magnachip.com/news-releases/news-release-details/magnachip-and-melfas-inc-announce-partnership-collaborate-oled

An offering of second generation 0.13 micron 18V high-voltage process technology to its foundry customers. The technology, which is dedicated for designing source drivers for LCD and OLED televisions, offers fewer steps, allows suitable high-voltage design rules to shrink chip size, and adds a new device for DAC block design, as compared to the first-generation process. http://investors.magnachip.com/news-releases/news-release-details/magnachip-offers-013-micron-18v-high-voltage-gen2-technology

First Quarter 2019 Conference Call
The conference call will be webcast live today (April 30, 2019) at 5:00 p.m. EDT and also is available by dialing toll-free at 1-844-536-5472. International call-in participants can dial 1-614-999-9318. The conference ID number is 8618428. Participants are encouraged to initiate their calls at least 10 minutes in advance of the 5:00 p.m. EDT start time to ensure a timely connection. The webcast and earnings release will be accessible at www.magnachip.com. A replay of the conference call will be available the same day and will run for 72 hours. The replay dial-in numbers are 1-404-537-3406 or toll-free at 1-855-859-2056. The access code is 8618428.

About MagnaChip Semiconductor Corporation
MagnaChip is a designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor platform solutions for communications, IoT, consumer, industrial and automotive applications. The Company's Standard Products Group and Foundry Services Group provide a broad range of standard products and manufacturing services to customers worldwide. MagnaChip, with about 40 years of operating history, owns a portfolio of approximately 3,000 registered patents and pending applications, and has extensive engineering, design and manufacturing process expertise. For more information, please visit www.magnachip.com. Information on or accessible through, MagnaChip's website is not a part of, and is not incorporated into, this release.

Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements
Information in this release regarding MagnaChip's forecasts, business outlook, expectations and beliefs are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include statements about our future operating and financial performance, including but not limited to second quarter 2019 revenue and gross profit margin expectations. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based upon information available to MagnaChip as of the date of this release, which may change, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include general economic conditions, the impact of competitive products and pricing, timely design acceptance by our customers, timely introduction of new products and technologies, ability to ramp new products into volume production, industry wide shifts in supply and demand for semiconductor products, industry and/or company overcapacity, effective and cost efficient utilization of manufacturing capacity, financial stability in foreign markets and the impact of foreign exchange rates, unanticipated costs and expenses or the inability to identify expenses which can be eliminated, compliance with U.S. and international trade and export laws and regulations by us and our distributors, and other risks detailed from time to time in MagnaChip's filings with the SEC, including our Form 10-K filed on February 22, 2019 and subsequent registration statements, amendments or other reports that we may file from time to time with the SEC and/or make available on our website. MagnaChip assumes no obligation and does not intend to update the forward-looking statements provided, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.